Audience: SMT/SLT, DSL/CPO, Pastoral staff, all practitioners supporting international students, Educational Agents and Guardians

Platform: Zoom (online) – conference

Course outline: International students, by default of living and studying away from their home and network, are vulnerable. Safeguarding international students therefore warrants additional focus and dedication. This conference brings together expert speakers with specialist knowledge and experience who work with international students to inform and support colleagues managing safeguarding and welfare in international educational contexts and communities. The programme will offer focus areas relevant to practitioners in this area including mental health, cultural variations, navigating technology and online communication, compliance, multi-agency collaboration and leadership. Questions from members will be facilitated throughout the conference and delegates are encouraged to come prepared with questions for our experts.

Cost:

• SACPA/BAISIS Member Rate: £235
• BSA Member Discounted Fee – £235 £470
• SACPA/BAISIS Additional Full Member Fee: £110
• SACPA / BAISIS Member Whole School Fee: £490
• Non-member Rate: £470*

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*If you would like to become a member and access discounted rates for SACPA CPD and events, please click here.

Programme:

09:30 – 10:15

Welcome and keynote

10:15 – 10:30

Break

10:30 – 11:30

Working with guardians, host families and home stay providers – what happens when there’s an issue

This session will consider the responsibility of schools and schools with sponsor licences regarding oversight of educational guardian arrangements and practice. Considering information-sharing, allegations management and due diligence, we will discuss how schools can be prepared for when things might go wrong.

• Speaker:
  • Claire Dan, Director of Safeguarding and Director, SACPA

11:30 – 11:45

Break

11:45 – 12:30

Compliance / Leadership – Visa and immigration concerns

V&I update, links to welfare, best practice recommendations around guardianship and increased scrutiny in this important area.

• Chair:
  • Beth Hudson, Executive Director Specialist Services and Director, BAISIS
• Speaker:
  • Kate Hollyer, Executive Director, Legal, BSA Group

12:30 – 13:30

Lunch

13:30 – 14:30

Cultural variations

This day-to-day subject can have significant safeguarding implications when poorly managed and considered. Our panel of speakers will consider how best to recognise and accommodate reasonable cultural variations in a diverse community, mediate between significant cultural differences and prepare young people for their next transition and organisational culture shift.

• Speaker:
  • Melanie Bloor-Black, Deputy Head (Pastoral), Yehudi Menuhin School

14:30 – 14:45

Break

14:45 – 16:15

Workshop and facilitated discussion

This final portion of the conference will give delegates the opportunity to join interactive discussion workshops, delivered by current practitioners, to consider specific safeguarding cases involving international students. The workshop facilitators work in an independent boarding school, so will be framing activity in that context but factoring in multi-agency approaches. Delegates will have the opportunity to engage live in both workshop options.

• Speaker:
  • Ed Poynter, Deputy Head Pastoral, Charterhouse School
  • Leanne Rowlands, Assistant Head, Pastoral & Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead, Charterhouse
  • M Jolly, Director of Wellbeing and Inclusion, Charterhouse School

16:15

Conference close

Speakers:

Claire Dan, Director of Safeguarding and Director, Sacpa

Claire is Director of Safeguarding and Director, Sacpa and leads on the provision of safeguarding advice and support to members and the development and delivery of CPD and safeguarding consultancy services. Claire is a safeguarding specialist and leader with a background in education welfare, youth justice, and early help contexts which have involved a strong focus on diverse and collaborative partnerships, professional development and supervision of front-line safeguarding colleagues, and leading multi-disciplinary teams and projects. Between 2006 and 2013 Claire was involved with Luton Safeguarding Children Board as a lead multi-agency safeguarding trainer, developing and delivering single and multi-agency safeguarding training, and since 2013 has delivered pieces of bespoke consultancy work, and providing a range of safeguarding consultancy on a freelance basis.

David Walker, Executive Director, Boarding and Director BSA/TIOB David is the Executive Director, Boarding and Director BSA/TIOB  and joined the BSA group in August 2023. He has over 20 years’ experience in boarding schools and has worked in a range of schools in the UK and Africa, alongside being a prep school governor and a trustee of a MAT. Before taking up his post at the BSA, David was Deputy Head Pastoral at a large co-ed independent school in the South-East.

Beth Hudson, Executive Director Specialist Services and Director, BAISIS, BSA Group Bethan Waddington joined the BSA team as Training Manager in September 2017. Bethan has worked in two independent boarding schools in the UK and Switzerland, the latter as Housemistress to 36 pupils. Following her time in Switzerland, she was a Pastoral Manager for an inner-city state academy before working in the charity sector for Debrett’s running the ‘Debrett’s Foundation’ training programme. In her role, Bethan plans and manages all Day Seminars, Conferences, INSET and Consultancy, as well as being Director of BAISIS. She believes boarding can be a positive force for young people and in order to fully support their needs staff can never learn too much. As such she is passionate about the CPD BSA delivers to our pastoral communities in the UK and worldwide.

Kate Hollyer, Executive Director, Legal, BSA Legal Services Ltd Kate is Legal and Public Affairs Director of BSA Group and Director of BSA Group Legal Services Ltd, BSA Group’s SRA-regulated law firm. As a qualified solicitor of England and Wales with more than 12 years’ experience advising clients on UK immigration and nationality law, Kate supports members with all UK immigration matters including UKVI sponsor licence compliance. Kate is a member of the Home Office Education Advisory Group and is the boarding sector representative for this group. Prior to joining BSA in 2022 Kate was Partner and Head of Department at a leading full-service UK law firm. Having resided in state, preparatory and senior school boarding houses since 2014 with her Housemaster husband, Kate has a unique perspective of boarding life.

Ed Poynter, Deputy Head Pastoral, Charterhouse School Ed started teaching in 2010 via the Graduate Teacher Programme (University College London) following a career in the British Army where he served as an infantry officer with the Royal Green Jackets (and latterly the Rifles) in Bosnia, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan. Ed taught English in London state and day schools, before his first taste of working in a boarding environment at Ardingly College in West Sussex. Ed’s next post was as a Housemaster at Charterhouse for eight years, before taking on his current role (also at Charterhouse) as Deputy Head (Pastoral). He holds a BA in English and Classics from the University of Exeter and a Masters in Educational Leadership from the University of Buckingham. He is married to a pre-prep teacher and they have three school age children.

Leanne Rowlands, Assistant Head, Pastoral & Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead, Charterhouse Leanne has over 20 years of boarding experience in Independent Schools, namely St Edwards’ Oxford, Marlborough College (UK and Malaysia), Tudor Hall, Bradfield College and currently at Charterhouse School where she is Assistant Head Pastoral and a trained DSL with responsibility for Online Safety.  For over 13 years, Leanne ran both horizontal and vertical boarding houses and then Moved to Malaysia in 2012 to set up girls boarding at Marlborough College.  She also has been a Head of Girls Sport and Head of Department (Academic Physical Education and Psychology). Alongside her role as AHP, Leanne is also responsible for overseeing the International Pupil’s Co-ordinator, Lead Nurse and Guardians at Charterhouse.  Leanne has been instrumental in establishing co-education at Charterhouse where she also oversees and audits the implementation of the NMS across the 15 boarding houses.

M Jolly, Director of Wellbeing and Inclusion, Charterhouse School

M Jolly is the director of wellbeing and inclusion and senior leader at Charter House school. She is also a qualified therapist and clinical Supervisor. She has worked in schools with young people for over ten years and is creating real change within her school. M Jolly, harnesses student voice to bring awareness to the school community and beyond about important issues. The EDI vision between 2021-2023 has placed emphasis on allyship and anti-discrimination, culminating in pupil-led Charters for Anti-Racism, Anti-Sexism, LGBTQ+ and Anti-Bullying. Her school were recently awarded The Rainbow Flag Award, in recognition of their pro-active and whole School approach to the positive inclusion and visibility of LGBT+ people.

Melanie Bloor-Black, Deputy Head (Pastoral), Yehudi Menuhin School